What does "park" mean?
An area of land set aside for environment preservation or recreation.; A tract of ground kept in its natural state, about or adjacent to a residence, such as for the preservation of game, for walking, riding, or the like.
Park
/pɑɹk/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An area of land set aside for environment preservation or recreation.; A tract of ground kept in its natural state, about or adjacent to a residence, such as for the preservation of game, for walking, riding, or the like.
- Grammar: park is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: car park, parking lot, parkland, afforestation.
- Useful contrasts: building, drive, drive around.
- Usage evidence: Sir, you are not allowed to park your car here.
How to use "park"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "park" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "park" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "park" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "park" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "park" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "car park" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "park", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An area of land set aside for environment preservation or recreation.; A tract of ground kept in its natural state, about or adjacent to a residence, such as for the preservation of game, for walking, riding, or the like.
"She went to the park for a jog with him."
- 2 a facility in which ball games are played (especially baseball games) wordnet
- 3 An area of land set aside for environment preservation or recreation.; A piece of ground in or near a city or town, enclosed and kept for ornament and recreation.
"Hyde Park in London; Central Park in New York"
- 4 a gear position that acts as a parking brake wordnet
- 5 An area of land set aside for environment preservation or recreation.; An enclosed parcel of land stocked with animals for hunting, which one may have by prescription or royal grant.
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 a large area of land preserved in its natural state as public property wordnet
- 7 A wide, flat-bottomed valley in a mountainous region. US
"The mountain region thus limited consists of extensive and often level-floored valleys, sometimes many miles broad, and elevated 4,000 to 5,000 feet above the sea, called "parks" in local topography, which are interposed between innumerable rocky mountain ridges ...."
- 8 a piece of open land for recreational use in an urban area wordnet
- 9 An area used for specific purposes.; An open space occupied by or reserved for vehicles, matériel or stores.
"a wagon park; an artillery park"
- 10 a lot where cars are parked wordnet
- 11 An area used for specific purposes.; A partially enclosed basin in which oysters are grown.
- 12 An area used for specific purposes.; An area zoned for a particular (industrial or commercial) purpose.
"business park; industrial park; science park"
- 13 An area used for specific purposes.; An area on which a sporting match is played; (soccer) a pitch.
"But because of their dominance in the middle of the park and the sheer volume of chances, Sunderland boss Steve Bruce must have been staggered and sickened in equal measure when the visitors took the lead five minutes after the break."
- 14 An inventory of matériel. UK
"A country's tank park or artillery park."
- 15 A space in which to leave a car; a parking space. Australia, New-Zealand, colloquial
"2003, “Johnny”, "Melbourne Blackout", in Sleazegrinder (editor), Gigs from Hell: True Stories from Rock and Roll′s Frontline, page 174, We got to the 9ᵗʰ Ward and as luck would have it I found a park for my bro′s car right out the front."
- 16 The gear into which one shifts an automatic transmission when one is parking a car or truck. (Denoted with symbol P on a shifter's labeling.)
"If a car seems to be refusing to let you shift out of park, recall that many cars have a safety interlock which requires that your foot must be pressing on the brake pedal before you can shift out of park."
Verb
- 1 To bring (something such as a vehicle) to a halt or store in a specified place. transitive
"You can park the car in front of the house."
- 2 place temporarily wordnet
- 3 To defer (a matter) until a later date. figuratively, informal, transitive
"Let's park that until next week's meeting."
- 4 maneuver a vehicle into a parking space wordnet
- 5 To bring together in a park, or compact body. transitive
"to park artillery, wagons, automobiles, etc."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 To enclose in a park, or as in a park. transitive
"O, negligent and heedless discipline! How are we park'd and bounded in a pale, A little herd of England's timorous deer, Mazed with a yelping kennel of French curs!"
- 7 To hit a home run; to hit the ball out of the park. transitive
"He really parked that one."
- 8 To engage in romantic or sexual activities inside a nonmoving vehicle that was driven to a suitable spot for that purpose. US, intransitive, slang
"They stopped at a romantic overlook, shut off the engine, and parked."
- 9 To sit, recline, or put, especially in a manner suggesting an intent to remain for some time. informal, reflexive, sometimes, transitive
"He came in and parked himself in our living room."
- 10 To invest money temporarily in an investment instrument considered to relatively free of risk, especially while awaiting other opportunities. transitive
"We decided to park our money in a safe, stable, low-yield bond fund until market conditions improve."
- 11 To register a domain name, but make no use of it (See domain parking) Internet
- 12 To enclose in a park, or partially enclosed basin. transitive
- 13 To promenade or drive in a park. dated, intransitive
- 14 To display style or gait on a park drive. dated, intransitive
Proper Noun
- 1 An English surname.
- 2 A surname from Korean. Alternative form of Bak.
"Centring on the tension between the Kims, a basement-dwelling family of “dirt spoons” in Seoul, and the Parks, a family at the opposite end of the social spectrum, Parasite’s plot is predicated on the widening gap between the haves and the have nots in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy."
- 3 A river in central Connecticut.
- 4 A village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland (Irish grid ref C 5802).
- 5 A large area of Lewis, Western Isles council area, Scotland.
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A community and ward in Merthyr Tydfil borough, Wales.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Sir, you are not allowed to park your car here."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "park"?
Common synonyms include: car park, parking lot, parkland, afforestation, ammo dump, anchor.
How do you use "park" in a sentence?
Sir, you are not allowed to park your car here.
How do you pronounce "park"?
Pronounced /pɑɹk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English park, from Old French parc (“livestock pen”), from Medieval Latin parcus, parricus, from Frankish *parrik (“enclosure, pen, fence”). Cognate with Dutch perk (“enclosure; flowerbed”), Old High German pfarrih, pferrih (“enclosure, pen”), Old English pearroc (“enclosure”) (whence modern English paddock), Old Norse parrak, parak (“enclosure, pen; distress, anxiety”), Icelandic parraka (“to keep pent in under restraint and coercion”). More at parrock, paddock.
Etymology 2
From park.
Etymology 3
From Korean 박(朴) (Bak), under influence from Park and originally spelled and read from the perspective of the pronunciation of non-rhotic (e.g. British) English speakers.